The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor An independent panel has sided with Dr. Krishan Sethi after more than two years of wrangling that kept the veteran physician out of the Flin Flon General Hospital emergency room. The NOR-MAN Regional Health Authority, now part of the Northern Health Region (NHR), had accused Sethi of a string of misdeeds relating to his past work at the hospital. But now Sethi says an appeal committee has ruled he should be reinstated as an active physician at the hospital with the entitlement to be on the ER schedule, known as a rota. And a separate committee, Sethi says, has dismissed the NHR's allegations of financial impropriety against him. That said, Sethi says he has no plans to return to his former role as an anesthesiologist at the Flin Flon ER. Sethi provided this information to The Reminder as part of this statement: 'I have endured an arduous legal process, over the past two years, so I will keep my comments brief. These comments are provided in order to respond to the numerous enquiries made regarding the legal process involving me and the Health Authority. 'The proceeding under the Health Authority's medical staff bylaw has been determined by an Appeal Committee, comprised of a nominee from the Health Authority, a nominee selected by me and a chair selected by the two nominees. Overall, I am not unhappy with the Appeal Committee's decision and am accepting of it. 'The Appeal Committee has decided that they are satisfied that I should be reinstated to ER privileges, at the FFGH (Flin Flon General Hospital), as an active status physician, with the entitlement to be on the ER Rota. In addition, during the course of the proceeding, under the bylaw, the regional Medical Advisory Committee, appointed by the NRHA, dismissed the allegations of financial impropriety, made against me. 'Being accused of financial impropriety, and having had this accusation appear in the media, both locally and nationally, has been a traumatic experience. 'I look forward to working alongside the Health Authority, to continue to provide the quality of care that I have always endeavoured to provide for my patients and the community. Having said that, I have no intentions of providing anaesthesia services at the Flin Flon General Hospital. 'Flin Flon has been my home for more than 32 years; both my daughters were born here. The support from my patients, friends, staff, and the community, including many RHA personnel, has been consistent throughout this challenging period, and my family and I are very appreciative of this overwhelming support. I would like to sincerely thank everyone.' See 'NHR...' on pg.6 Continued from pg.1 With all legal proceedings apparently now over, these mark Sethi's first public statements on the allegations against him. Last Friday afternoon, The Reminder posed a handful of questions to the NHR in response to Sethi's comments. By our press deadline Monday afternoon, the organization was still unable to provide a response, but said it would be doing so. In response to a question about how many taxpayer dollars were spent pursuing the allegations against Sethi, The Reminder was told to file a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. We intend to do so. The strife between Sethi and the NHR began in October 2010 when the physician's hospital privileges were revoked. He remained free to maintain his personal practise on Main Street. At that time the NOR-MAN RHA accused Sethi of several transgressions, including financial impropriety, requesting health information without a patient's written consent, and starting surgeries at inconsistent times. Sethi denied any wrongdoing and said he was initially informed of his suspension without notice and without being asked to respond to the accusations. He successfully took the NOR-MAN RHA to court in December 2010, winning back his hospital privileges, though he no longer worked in the ER as the allegations against him were heard by a committee. Sethi, whose accolades include awards from the Society of Rural Physicians and the College of Family Physicians of Canada, has practised in Flin Flon since 1980.
